Clothing care has become something of a lost art. Many of us would struggle to recall the last time we gave a winter coat a good brush or sewed a loose button back on, if we’ve ever done it at all. Clothing has become so cheap and abundant it barely seems worth taking the time to care for it – after all a replacement could cost just a few pounds.
But the cost of constantly buying new adds up. In 2023, spending on clothes in the UK reached a record £63.7bn .
And it costs the planet too. In 2021, around 711,000 tonnes of used textiles were discarded in the household bin – that’s around 35 items per person per year, a devastating waste of all the natural resources, non-renewable materials, and skilled labour that went into each item. If we’re to tackle both wasteful fashion habits and wasteful spending, clothing care needs to make a comeback.
Here’s how to keep your clothes in top condition for years: Know your washing symbols Fifty-nine per cent of Brits can’t correctly identify basic clothes washing symbols , which can lead to all sorts of garment-ruining disasters, from shrinking your favourite jumper on a hot wash to burning through a silk blouse with an iron. If that square with a circle in it means nothing to you, find a laundry symbol guide online and save it to your phone or print it and stick it above your washing machine. Always wash according to the label Once you know what all the symbols mean, it’s crucial to wash your clothes accordingly.
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